


Public Displays of Affection

by blue_pointer



Series: A Glorious Retelling [55]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Cabal's Ruin, Canon Timeline, Dad Grog, Don't copy to another site, Draconic - Freeform, Emo Elf Returns, Episode: c01e069 Passed Through Fire, Exhaustion Solidarity, Fluff, Found Family, Fusaka Addict Scanlan, Gilmore Hugs, M/M, Marquesian, Minor Kerrek/Keyleth, Minor Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Minor Kima/Allura Vysoren, POV Shaun Gilmore, Percy Lives, Vestiges of Divergence, whisper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:08:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29209386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_pointer/pseuds/blue_pointer
Summary: In which Gilmore welcomes Vox Machina back home from Glintshore and gets to act like Vax’ildan’s boyfriend for once.
Relationships: Shaun Gilmore & Vox Machina, Shaun Gilmore/Jarett Howarth, Shaun Gilmore/Vax'ildan
Series: A Glorious Retelling [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975831
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Public Displays of Affection

Had Gilmore really written to Grog? He didn’t remember waking up or scrying, so it must have been a dream. Strange dream, though. Gilmore had resolved to keep sleeping for as long as possible, whatever day it was, whatever time it was. 

Then suddenly he was no longer alone in his bedroom, and Gilmore opened his eyes to see Kima bending down and looking into his face. “Are you really back?” Gilmore asked, because the Arcanist was standing a few steps behind her partner. “Or am I still dreaming?” 

“Wow, goldie, you are in **bad** shape,” Kima said. She turned to look over her shoulder. “Allie?” 

“Shaun,” Allura spoke gently. “Do you mind if I take over the barrier for a little while?” 

“Please,” Gilmore begged. “Take it. I just want to sleep forever.” 

“Not forever,” Kima told him firmly. 

Gilmore fell face-down back into his pillow. “Alright, half of forever.” He could tell when Allura took over the barrier spell, because a weight that felt like several tons was lifted from his sinuses. It actually hurt _not_ to be holding it anymore. But he preferred this pain to the previous kind. 

“It doesn’t feel too bad,” Allura said, testing it. 

“It nearly killed the Realmseer,” Gilmore told her with his eyes closed. “Ask anyone.”

“Oh, I believe you. It’s just--”

“I’ve been doing a lot of work on it.” And that part was true. He didn’t need to add that it was Raishan who’d finally fixed it. 

“I can see that,” Allura said. And then, more quietly, “I’ll be at home.” 

“Okay,” Kima told her. Gilmore’s tense muscles slowly relaxed as the paladin poured a number of heals into him. Suddenly he could breathe again. “Alright, player, here’s your orders,” Kima told him at last. “Bed rest for as long as humanly--well, you know what I mean--possible. Sherri is going to feed you. If you do have to get up for some damn fool reason like your boo coming home, you have to be back in bed by 9, or _I will come for you_. No strenuous activities, including spells, for at least 24 hours. Got it?” 

Gilmore nodded, and it didn’t hurt too much this time. 

“Now.” He could feel Kima’s weight settle on the edge of the bed. “We passed a certain Marquesian officer on the way in here. He was practically glowing.” She smacked Gilmore’s behind, congratulatory. “You finally did it, didn’t you?”

Gilmore groaned. He was not feeling up to gossip, and that was saying something. 

“Okay, I expect a full report later. But trust me, this is a step in the right direction.” Kima hopped down from the bed again. “There’s water on the table right here. You’re going to drink it. Understood?” 

“Mmm.” Gilmore’s body was too tired for actual words.

“Alright, I’m assuming that’s a yes.” 

Assum. Oh, shit. Gilmore would have to warn Raishan to keep her distance from Kima. There was no telling what Bahamut might do. But no way was he going to leave this bed right now. 

*

Gilmore did not know how long he slept, but he sat up like a shot when he felt Keyleth’s Transport via Plants spell, sending Lockheed darting up in a panicked flutter from where it had been curled up on one of Gilmore's extra pillows. _“Sorry, little one,”_ he told it in Draconic. They were back. Had Grog said in the dream that they would be back today? Gilmore still wasn’t sure if the dream had been prescient or real. 

_“J’arett!”_

Jarett immediately stuck his head in the door. _“My lord, you’re supposed to be sleeping.”_

 _“I believe Percival may be dead.”_ When Jarett looked at him like he’d lost his mind, Gilmore explained.

 _“Well, if they are back, then perhaps we should go meet them?”_ Jarett suggested.

Gilmore shook his head. _“I don’t think so.”_ He tried to move to the edge of the bed. Why was he still so weak? _“Help me get dressed?”_

By the time Gilmore felt presentable, he could see no signs of Vox Machina outside on the streets of Whitestone. _“They’ll either have gone to the new temple or the castle,”_ he said to Jarett, who was fully supporting Gilmore like a human crutch.

 _“Which way?”_ Jarett asked softly. 

“Master Gilmore?” Sherri wandered out in her night robe, blinking owlishly at them without her glasses. She seemed to have reset her circadian rhythm to match Cassandra’s. 

“If they’re already at the temple, they won’t need us,” Gilmore said in Common, so that Sherri was included. “If they’re at the castle, Lady de Rolo will need us.” 

“Why?” Sherri asked, worried. “What’s happened?” 

“The castle, then,” Jarett said. 

“Yes,” Gilmore agreed. “Let’s use your Teleportation Circle,” Gilmore said to Sherri. “I’ll explain on the way.” 

The three of them Teleported to the catacombs only to find Cassandra had already left. When they went upstairs and asked the guards where she was, they were told she’d just gone out in a rush with Seeker Assum. _That can’t be good_ , Gilmore thought. 

“She left?” Sherri asked. “But it’s not full dark yet.” She looked at Gilmore, fearful. “What if she didn’t take her cloak?” And with that, Sherri went rushing off back downstairs. The guard had no clue what Sherri meant, but Gilmore and Jarett did. Gilmore glanced out a window. The sky was mostly painted in shades of wine and indigo now. Cassandra would probably be fine, but better safe than sorry. Certainly, if it had been Vax’ildan, Gilmore would have wanted to be sure as well. 

_“What do we do now?”_ Jarett asked him, as they were now alone in the great hall. 

_“Now? We hope for the best. And we wait.”_

_“You shouldn’t be standing,”_ Jarett told him, treating Gilmore more like a devoted husband with his pregnant wife than anything. It was very sweet. Gilmore did not protest when Jarett lowered him into a chair with a view of the front gate and dragged another over to join him. He held Gilmore’s hand as the mage began to doze, his exhaustion winning out over the discomfort of the ornamental chair. 

When Jarett heard Vox Machina approaching the castle, he gently woke Gilmore, who passed a hand over his face, trying his best to become alert. _“I’m sorry to be such a burden, J’arett,”_ Gilmore murmured, still half-asleep. 

_“You have never been a burden,”_ Jarett told him firmly. 

Gilmore didn’t know what to say to that except he felt very lucky to have someone so devoted in his acquaintance. It was a heady feeling. As he continued to wake up, they chatted about what might need to be done with Percival possibly incapacitated, considering the brief timeline the Ravenites had given Vox Machina. 

It wasn’t ten minutes before they saw the heroes pass through the gates. It seemed Percival was well enough to walk now, though he was using his rifle the way Gilmore used his cane, which didn’t seem quite safe. In spite of being on his feet, Percy still smelled of death, and he looked paler than usual, which was saying something. Gilmore also noted that, while Cassandra was with them, Assum was not. Whatever that meant.

“I take that as a good sign; he’s standing,” Gilmore said as the children walked over to them. When no one seemed to have the heart to reply, Gilmore saw it would be up to him, once again, to lift the mood. “Oh, come here, you white-haired fool!” he said, pushing himself out of the chair and rushing over to sweep Percival into a ruthless bear hug, lifting him off the ground. “I know that hurt,” Gilmore told Percy. Served him right for dying. 

Gilmore placed Percival back on his feet and smiled as all of them but Vax--who wore the grim expression of an undertaker--burst into laughter at the look on Percy’s face. Even Percival was trying to suppress a smile. “And what did we learn?” Gilmore asked him, not waiting for Percival to answer. “Don’t get killed again!”

“Third time’s the charm, in theory,” Percival replied. What was wrong with these children? They were all so determined to die. “Should we show them what we got?” he asked the others. 

“What do we have?” Scanlan asked, his crows’ feet more pronounced than usual, and it looked like he’d gained some grey hairs since Gilmore had seen them last, as well.

“What do we have to show them?” Vex’ahlia asked, utterly exhausted. She’d obviously been crying, poor thing.

“We have two Vestiges to show them,” Grog said. Gilmore was proud of him for being the only one who knew what was going on. He really was in charge of the party now, just as he’d said in the dream.

“We have two Vestiges,” Percival turned back to Gilmore to say. Before Gilmore could comment that all Percy had done was repeat Grog, Vex’ahlia produced an intriguing blue cloak from her bag. 

“Get it identified,” Scanlan said, as if that wasn’t what they always brought artifacts to him for. With the same dour expression on his face, Vax produced a magic dagger and held it out, blade-up, for Gilmore to see.

“I see you’ve also been prolific. Here, let me have a look.” Gilmore carefully took the cloak from Vex first. The lining crackled with arcane energy as he turned it over in his hands. “Very interesting.” Gilmore cast Identify. “This is indeed Cabal’s Ruin, one of the Vestiges of Divergence.” Its history played out before Gilmore’s third eye like a fairy tale brought to life. As it was Marquesian in origin, he would have liked to sit and watch it in its entirety, but there wasn’t time for that now. Reluctantly, Gilmore brought his attention back to the present. 

“Well, to be specific about this: once attuned to whoever’s wearing it, you have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, which is pretty badass, if I do say so myself. Also, when you’re hit by some sort of asshole’s spell out there, you can use your reaction to have the cloak swallow part of it.” Gilmore honestly had no idea why he was describing the cloak’s powers to them in this way, blow by blow as if replaying a battle after the fact. All he could think was that he was very tired. It was a wonder he was making any sense at all. He continued, “You halve the damage you take from the spell, if there’s any damage to be taken, and the cloak gains a number of charges equal to the spell level of the triggering spell.”

“All this arcane terminology is fascinating,” Vax said with a smirk, clearly having noticed the odd way Gilmore had been speaking. But Vax’ildan had made the mistake of moving close to Gilmore in order for him to identify the dagger. 

Gilmore took advantage of that proximity now to swat Vax firmly on the rump. “Are you mocking the way I’m speaking, Vax’ildan?” 

As it just so happened, Vax enjoyed spankings very much, but he hadn’t been expecting that one. He started at the blow, and now roses bloomed on his pale cheeks. “No, Sir,” Vax said softly. 

“I thought not,” Gilmore smirked. He wrapped his free arm around Vax’ildan’s shoulders, brushing lips against his cheek and leaning against him, as it seemed Gilmore was expected to stand for some time yet. He smiled when Gilmore felt Vax’ildan’s free arm wrap around his waist. The others were not paying attention, discussing amongst themselves who should get the Vestige. Finally it was decided that Percival would, as he had been killed by the woman they’d got it from.

“What about the other Vestige?” Grog asked. 

But Vax was focused on Gilmore. As he should be. Noticing that Gilmore was leaning on him rather heavily, Vax looked up at him. “How are you doing, Shaun?”

“What do you mean? I’m doing fantastic!” Gilmore lied with a bright smile. Oh, it was so good to have his Vax’ildan back.

But Vax clearly was not buying his act this time. “How are you holding up?” he asked, tightening his arm around Gilmore’s waist.

“It’s a little rough,” Gilmore admitted. “But it’s okay.” He waved it off, seeing the look of concern on Vax’ildan’s face. “I’m doing my job, just as you are. I mean, you all look tired, exhausted, and emotionally drained. So do I!” That finally drew a smile from Vax, and Gilmore bent to kiss him on the cheek again as the group responded with exhausted laughter. Sweet boy. He always looked so sad. “So,” Gilmore shrugged. “I think we’re all doing our part.”

“Your parents are lovely, by the way,” Keyleth said.

“Your parents are adorable,” Vex agreed.

Gilmore chuckled. There was nothing wrong with lying. Some lies were necessary. This uncomfortable feeling in his heart was probably just...gas. “Ah, yes.”

“Thank you so much again,” Keyleth said.

“We gave ‘em a bunch of water,” Grog said. 

“We did,” Keyleth said. 

Gilmore was about to thank them when Scanlan asked the others, “Didn’t he give us something to give to them? Did we do that?”

“We did,” Percy told him.

“Yeah, we gave it to--” Vex began, but Scanlan cut her off. 

“Yes, we gave them...what you told us to.”

“The locket,” Vex confirmed, as clearly Scanlan had not been paying attention. 

Oh dear. Well, that must have seemed like what he’d meant, now that Gilmore thought of it. It was an honest mistake, and no harm done. One of them likely would have said by now if they’d had an encounter with the Hand where they might have needed it the way Gilmore had originally intended. 

“Thank you,” Gilmore said, as though he’d meant for that to happen all along. “I appreciate that.” Wait, why was Vax’ildan looking at him like that?

“We told them you’re doing great and we told them you were doing fantastic and wonderful and successful,” Keyleth said. That was cute. They’d tried to talk him up to his “parents.”

“Well, thank you. When all else is done, I should go visit. It’s been a while.” It really had been. Gilmore missed Soren and Opesa, but never enough to set foot in Marquet again. He was not ready.

“They seem very proud of you,” Vax told him. 

Gilmore sighed, remembering how upset they’d been when he’d chosen to leave not just the palace but the country itself. “It’s taken a while.” Not that Gilmore had ever feared they would not forgive him.

“They told us you weren’t potty-trained until you were six,” Scanlan said, apparently finding himself hilarious as ever. “Is that true?”

Gilmore rolled his eyes and held his free hand out for Vax’ildan’s new plaything. “Give me your dagger.”

Vax smiled, handing it over. Gilmore was not a fan of men who insisted that people they loved smile more, but it really did transform Vax’ildan’s already handsome face. Gilmore kissed him one last time before letting go of Vax’s shoulders to run his fingers along the flat of the blade. Psychic damage, Intimidation, and automatic short range Teleportation? Handy, to say the least. A thing of darkness, for certain, but that suited his bird just fine.

As Gilmore described its powers to Vax, the rogue’s eyes lit up, and he covered his mouth with one hand, like a child at Winter’s Crest. Adorable. 

“Well, it’s either Pike or me,” Vax said, glancing around at the others. They joked for a bit that perhaps Keyleth should have the dagger--as if wielding darkness of this nature wouldn’t eat her soul--but then Grog stepped in to make a cogent argument about how he might use it effectively to transport him in battle. 

It was a good argument, too. Unfortunately, Vax’ildan had clearly already set his heart upon it. “This knife is _so sexy_ , though,” he explained to Grog, condescendingly. “And you are so invulnerable to everything.” It was edifying to watch his boy manipulate someone else for a change. Vax’ildan’s whole body posture changed along with his tone. Gilmore wanted to pin him to the wall and kiss him, hard.

“I’m just saying,” Grog said. “Just for consideration. Obviously daggers are your bag, baby.” Baby? Perhaps Vax’ildan’s cajoling was doing something for Grog as well. Well, Gilmore would not be averse to that threesome...

“It also means he can escape things very easily,” Percival put in. And it was a fair point, as Vax was the one of them who tended to always get into the worst trouble first. 

“What if--” Vax began.

“You arm wrestle for it,” Scanlan suggested, with his too-wide smile. 

“Uh, no,” Vax said quickly.

“I think you should,” Vex’ahlia piled on.

Vax offered Grog the Displacer cloak, but barbarians didn’t need cloaks that protected them from taking damage. “Do you have to be attuned to this?” Grog asked, motioning toward the dagger, which Gilmore was still holding. When the answer was yes, he hung his head in defeat. “Somebody else can have it.” Well, it had been a good idea, at least.

“Done,” Vax said, taking it from Gilmore before Grog could change his mind.

“If there’s anything else you need me to look at,” Gilmore said, watching Vax take his belt off to add the new dagger. “I still have a full score of simple tricks.”

“Simple tricks?” Grog asked, looking intrigued. 

Apparently Gilmore had to be more specific, or it came off as a thirst trap. “Is there anything else you want me to look at before I go to bed? Because it’s late,” Gilmore said.

“You’ve already looked at these, right?” Grog asked, holding up his Titanstone Knuckles. 

But Gilmore’s attention was still on Vax, who was slipping his belt back on, and looking up at Gilmore through his eyelashes. “What time is it, Shaun?” Perhaps Gilmore mentioning that he was going to bed had caught Vax’s attention. Gilmore told him, placing a hand on Vax’ildan’s shoulder now both of his hands were free.

“Nine?” Vax turned to look at his recently-deceased comrade. “Percival, you should go to bed.” 

_Well, so much for that idea_ , Gilmore thought. 

“Does anyone else want a drink?” Vax asked the group.

Gilmore didn’t have time to think if this was Vax’ildan’s subtle way of asking him out for a drink, because Vex was asking him a question: “Wait, I have an old music box. Can you look at it and see if it’s magical?”

It wasn’t. Well-made, though, but not even an antique. Gilmore wouldn’t have sold it in any of his shops. “No. It’s an impressive music box,” he added as consolation.

“Just a music box? Lovely.” She was clearly disappointed.

“Hey,” Scanlan looked at him. “You read Marquechan--the language of Marquet.” 

Gilmore corrected his pronunciation and waited for Scanlan to repeat it back accurately. 

“I got this book--found this book in this shitty casino office,” Scanlan corrected. “It’s written in Marqueeezian.” Now the gnome was willfully mispronouncing it. 

“Don’t. Don’t pronounce it, please,” Gilmore told him. “It’s offensive.” Not that that usually stopped Scanlan from doing anything. Gilmore took the book from him, immediately got an eyeful, and closed it. “I think it found the right owner.” 

“Oh. It’s a porno!” The gnome was pleased.

“It’s an instructional guide,” Gilmore corrected. They had not commissioned those paintings all those years ago to have them be referred to as ‘porno.’ 

Though perhaps it had been worth the indignity to watch Vax dissolve into giggles right now. He slid his arm back around Gilmore’s waist, doubled over with laughter. 

“You might learn something,” Gilmore advised Scanlan, as Keyleth snorted with embarrassed laughter.

“It’s an instructional guide?” Vex asked, amused. 

“Excellent!” Grog declared.

“I can’t read it, though,” Scanlan complained. “How will I learn?”

“Maybe you start taking classes in Marquesian,” Gilmore suggested with a smirk, sliding his hand down Vax’ildan’s spine to rest on his backside.

“Are there any illustrations?” Vex asked innocently.

“Yeah, pictures,” Vax grinned at Scanlan, holding Gilmore a little tighter. “You like pictures, Scanlan.” Vax was leaning against Gilmore now, clearly enjoying the physical contact. 

He continued to giggle as Scanlan opened the book to the illustrations, and Percy looked on, very interested, over the gnome’s shoulder. “And I think that one folds out,” Percy was saying, as though he were only looking at the paintings for the aesthetics. “That’s quite nice.” 

Good gods, these children.

“Scanlan,” Grog broke through the infectious laughter, apparently still the leader of the group. “Isn’t there anything else you need to deliver to one of these two fine gentlemen?” 

When Scanlan looked clueless, Vex’ahlia cleared her throat suggestively. “I don’t think so,” the gnome said.

“No, I believe there is something you acquired for one of these two gents?” It was at this point that Scanlan began to act even more strangely than usual, and Gilmore stopped paying attention. 

Vaxildan’s hand had slipped down to squeeze Gilmore’s rear end, and he found that much more worthy of his attention than whatever odd conversation Scanlan wanted to have with Jarett. Briefly, it became a contest as to who could distract whom more without attracting the attention of the rest of the group. Gilmore lost. In spite of the fact Vax liked to have the nape of his neck scratched, apparently rogue’s stealth could also be applied to one’s ability to slip hands inside other people’s robes without being detected. Well, Gilmore certainly detected it! He gasped, brushing Vax’ildan’s questing fingers away before it was too late.

Vax was good at being a rogue. He carried on as though nothing had happened, and bided his time until Scanlan was finished talking to Jarett. “Oh, uh. Jarett. This is Kynan,” Vax said, glancing over his shoulder at a sullen teenager that had been lurking in the background this whole time. “Kynan has been telling me that he wanted to help protect Whitestone. He hasn’t anywhere to live. He needs something to do with his time, and he has a fire in his belly and wants to serve.”

What was this? Vax had acquired a boy on their journey? Gilmore looked at Kynan more closely. He was certainly too old to be Vax’ildan’s son, so there was that at least. Still, the way Vax spoke of him… Well, Gilmore would get the story out of him eventually. 

“Alright. A friend of you is a friend of ours. You are able-bodied?” Jarett asked the boy. 

Kynan was either too frightened of Jarett to look at him when he replied, or too frightened of Vax to look away. Strange. “Yes. Anything. Whatever I can do.”

Jarett immediately took him in hand and began giving orders. It was fun to watch, really. Finally Jarett relented and took the boy under his wing more gently. “I may have a thought for the boy later,” Percy murmured, which drew Gilmore’s eyebrow up. What _was_ going on? 

Then Jarett was delivering a letter to Keyleth that he’d not said anything to Gilmore about. Gilmore gave Jarett a look. Hadn’t he promised to share information with Gilmore? Well, perhaps this was nothing of great import, though Jarett told Keyleth it had come from Westruun. 

Gilmore paid attention as she read, at least until Keyleth began to weep. Something personal, then. He watched Vax grow more and more upset, clearly feeling alienated as Keyleth became consumed with this message from another man. Gilmore rubbed his back, soothing, feeling Vax slowly lean against him more and more until Gilmore was no longer certain who was supporting whom. He brushed Vax’ildan’s hair back and kissed his cheek. 

As Keyleth finished reading, tears streaming down her face, she looked up at all of them. “Holy shit. I don’t know what to say.” 

Scanlan asked what the object was that had been enclosed with the letter. “Are you alright?” Vax asked, feeling utterly left out, but still concerned.

Keyleth nodded. “It was Kerr.” That meant nothing to Gilmore, but from the look on Vax’ildan’s face, it meant something to him. Gilmore watched Keyleth withdraw a ring from the envelope.

“Is he proposing to you?” Vex asked. Keyleth and Percival both exclaimed over how lovely the ring was. “Wow.” 

Keyleth tearfully read the inscription to them: _I have passed through fire._

While his sister exclaimed over how cool that was, Vax crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to hold in his insecurity. “He’s right.” Keyleth made a point of saying that Kerr was her friend, but from the look on Vax’ildan’s face, Gilmore was not so sure he agreed.

 _Oh dear_. Did Vax have more competition for Keyleth’s affections? And why had no one informed Gilmore?

The others poured over the letter for a bit longer, but Gilmore was done for the evening. Did this mean he could collect his Vax and go home now? He turned to look at Jarett, who’d begun sharpening his dagger, feeling utterly bored and out of place. He glanced up at Gilmore as if to ask, ‘should we go?’

Gilmore shrugged, stroking the back of Vax’ildan’s neck. Finally, Vex told Percy he should sleep, and it was well past time, as far as Gilmore was concerned. Scanlan seemed to want to do more planning with Percival tonight, and Vex was hesitant to leave him, but Vax put his foot down. “It’s true, but Percy needs to go the fuck to sleep, seriously,” he said, echoing Gilmore’s thoughts. 

But Percival was being stubborn, as always. “Take a fucking nap, man!” Grog declared. “We’ll convene in the morning!” So assertive!

“You’re outvoted, Percy,” Vax said. “Go to bed.” Telling Percy what to do seemed to have improved Vax’ildan’s mood immensely. 

“You literally just rose from the dead,” Keyleth added.

Percy muttered something about needing new clothes, prompting Vax to say, “Nobody wants to talk to you right now. We want you to go to sleep. We’re going to go have a drink and have a fabulous time. We’ll see you in the morning.” And finally, Percival relented and went on to bed. 

After Vex’ahlia and Grog had congratulated Pike for bringing him back from the dead, Pike suggested, too, that they all go for drinks. Vax dropped his arm, apparently pretending he had not been holding onto Gilmore this entire time. “Jarett, Shaun, can you get away?” 

“For a moment, maybe,” Gilmore said. “I should probably rest as well.” Ideally with Vax, but it didn’t look like that was going to be the case. “Jarett?” 

“You know what? Yes,” Jarett said. So it seemed Gilmore was going home alone tonight. “Drink sounds nice. It’s been a while. Good company.”

Gilmore walked them down the hill toward the tavern, and at the path that led toward home, he said his goodbyes, taking the time to give each of them a hug--well, Scanlan received a handshake, but Pike got a hug. Vex’ahlia got a kiss on the forehead. Gilmore would need to talk with her later about the toll Percival’s death had taken on her. Keyleth got a tight hug and an extra kerchief to dry her bountiful tears. Grog picked Gilmore up and crushed the breath out of him, but Gilmore had been fully expecting that. And finally, Gilmore took his time, wrapping both arms around his Vax’ildan and holding him for a moment. When he felt Vax going stiff with embarrassment, Gilmore let him go with one last kiss on both cheeks. 

Then he clasped Jarett’s hand, telling all of them, “I’m sure we’ll talk more tomorrow. I’m going to go follow Percy’s plan of action at my place.” They waved goodbye as Gilmore turned and withdrew his cane to walk home. It wasn’t his ideal ending to the day, but sleep sounded almost better than sex just now. Still, it was hard not to feel old at times like this.


End file.
